Tahoe Dreamin’ – From Lake Michigan to Lake Tahoe

I planned my trip to Tahoe Dreamin’ about a month before the event. I was looking forward to seeing how the Western US took my Midwest Dreamin’ concept from the big city of Chicago to the ski slopes and mountains of South Lake Tahoe. Just a few short weeks later, I had accepted my new role as Advocacy Manager for Apttus, which suddenly meant most of my Tahoe Dreamin’ experience would come from interactions with people who visited the Apttus booth in the expo.

From my own, somewhat selfish point of view, I was not looking forward to that because I thought it meant I would not have time to spend with all my friends from the Salesforce community. For once in my life I was absolutely thrilled to be wrong. In reality, it meant that I got to spend time with NEW friends during the event, then new & established friends after-hours.

The Salesforce community is what makes events like Tahoe Dreamin so amazing. This event was not organized by Salesforce, rather it was organized and run by a small group of Salesforce community members, a small but highly motivated and passionate group of Salesforce customers and partners led by Bill Greenhaw, a Salesforce MVP and Leader of the Sacramento User Group.

Because of my new role, I did not have the opportunity to see the keynote, given by Shawna Wolverton, Vice President of Product Management, Platform at Salesforce, and Adam Seligman, Senior Vice President, Developer Relations, Salesforce, because our booth was busy, which is most certainly a good thing! From what others told me it was a great session with some flair that many of us would normally associate with the one and only, Parker Harris, a.k.a. Lightning Man. The keynote had Shawna and Adam wearing some awesome snowsuits!

Adam and Shawna Snowsuits

One that the next day Samantha Ready wore on the slopes!

Samantha Snowsuit

But fun in the snow isn’t what Tahoe Dreamin’ was really all about.

You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out. You do the hokie poike and you turn yourself around, that’s what it all about! 

What Tahoe Dreamin’ was really all about was the Salesforce Community, making connections and sharing knowledge.

Liz Gladstone put it this way: “Tahoe Dreamin’ provided the inspiration and community that Dreamforce does but in a setting intimate enough to talk with every single person.”

Shonnah Hughes had this to say: “Take Aways: Volunteer if you can, Speak up, get to know someone you don’t already know, Go to the after the event parties or gather your own group to party, ask questions, take lots of pictures and have the mind set that you are there to learn and have fun!”

Cynthia Saalfeld said this: ” I loved it!  I liked how well distributed the sessions were, not too short and not too long with a good break time in between sessions giving you time to visit the vendors and partners.   Moreover, talking to the speakers was possible and much more intimate than Dreamforce.”

Stuart Edeal (who came to Tahoe all the way from Minnesota!) wrote his own blog post about Tahoe Dreamin’.  He summarized the event this way: Attend regional events, and volunteer if you can. Share your challenges & successes. Accept invites for lunch, coffee, walks, etc. Ask questions, set goals, and enjoy yourself!

A few other comments I heard were: “Great venue”; “Fabulous food”; “Well organized”; “A little smoky at times, but it was in a Casino, with awesome scenery!”; “Bill Greenhaw and his team did a fantastic job pulling the event together”

I guess it’s safe to say I feel a little bit like a proud grandfather, having just watched a grandchild succeed gracefully in his first piano recital. Great job, Team Tahoe Dreamin’! I hope this becomes an annual event!

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Celeste Keller

This is the twenty-first post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce the quadruple Salesforce certified Salesforce Saint, also known as Celeste Keller.

image

What’s your job title? Senior Salesforce Administrator, Puppet Labs (EFD – Puppet Labs?  Do they make puppets and marionettes? No…I checked LinkedIn. Puppet Labs “develops automation software that frees IT professionals from mundane tasks, giving them time to develop innovative technology strategies that help their companies grow.” And that’s a direct quote from their LinkedIn profile!)

What does that mean you do?  Everything! User support, new configuration from requirements gathering to rollout, a little bit of Apex (mostly stealing code), release communications after each Salesforce release… (EFD – Ahhh…sounds like you’re a “Solo Admin”, and stealing code is cool, just don’t get caught!)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)?   I became a Salesforce admin in 2007 – I believe what my boss said was, “Learn this thing, and tell the rest of us how to use it.” Back then, I was doing Sales Support and random other things, and it was just one of many hats that I wore. Over time, it became my actual job – and the awesome career that I now love. In 2012, I started a Salesforce blog – because when I geek out over something cool that I just learned, there’s usually no one around to share it with! Shameless plug: check it out my blog.  (EFD – You are what some people might call an “Accidental Admin”…but you’ve gone even further with that. As for the shameless plug for your blog, if you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have! It’s a must read, in my opinion!)

Bacon or sausage?  Can’t I have both? Don’t make me decide.

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Both – in a perfect world what you know, but its not realistic to think knowing someone doesn’t help 🙂 (EFD – Uhhh…so that’s a “What” or is it a “Who”?  I might be slightly confused here.)

How did our relationship start, and when? I’m pretty sure it was the Success Community, and in the fall of 2014. (EFD – “Pretty sure”?  I guess I really made a great impression on you! {That’s sarcasm, in case you couldn’t tell}  Seriously, I’m not sure I really remember either!  We are both pretty active on Twitter and in the Success Community, but I think the first time I met you in person might have been at Dreamforce 2015! )

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? This will be surprising to anyone who works with me as well, and has seen me in my uniform of jeans + t-shirt over the years. I have season tickets to the Opera, and love to get decked out in a gown and tiara for every show! (EFD – I have never been to the Opera…I think I have this stereotype that all Operas are in Italian and that I wouldn’t understand it.)

You can find Celeste on Twitter, and please be sure to check out her blog!

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Lauren Jordan

This is the twentieth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce the 4-time Salesforce Certified Leader of the Raleigh, NC, Women in Technology Group & Salesforce MVP, Lauren Jordan.

Lauren Jordan

What’s your job title? Senior BSA, Red Hat (EFD – For the record, BSA = Business Systems Analyst, right?)

What does that mean you do? I just started on 1.4.16, but I am working on a team to improve the internal user experience as well as work on other internal projects.  (EFD – Ooo….a Shiny, Brand New Job, that for the readers benefit you hadn’t even started working at the time this post was written. Oh, hey!  That gives me an idea for another blog series…sorry, I’m not telling anything more about that idea now. Give me a couple of months to get those thoughts in order and create the new blog series.)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? I’ve been on the Salesforce platform for 6.5 years.  (EFD – That’s about the same length as my Salesforce lifespan.)

Bacon or sausage?  Can’t I have both? Don’t make me decide.

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Both – in a perfect world what you know, but its not realistic to think knowing someone doesn’t help 🙂 (EFD – Uhhh…so that’s a “What” or is it a “Who”?  I might be slightly confused here.)

How did our relationship start, and when? I’m pretty sure it was the Success Community, and in the fall of 2014. (EFD – “Pretty sure”?  I guess I really made a great impression on you! {That’s sarcasm, in case you couldn’t tell}  Seriously, I’m not sure I really remember either!  We are both pretty active on Twitter and in the Success Community, but I think the first time I met you in person might have been at Dreamforce 2015! )

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I have my cosmetologist license – Yes I used to do hair and nails.  I did say that in a community feed one day – not sure who picked up on it though. (EFD – I wonder if you can do anything with my hair…so my children will realize I still have some left!)

You can find Lauren on Twitter.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Elna Miller

This is the eighteenth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce the force behind the Salesforce Goodie List, Elna Miller.
image

 

What’s your job title? Customer Success Strategy Senior Manager, Salesforce.

What does that mean you do? I help produce and run a global, interactive, community-integrated webinar extravaganza. I also like to hang out in the Success Community where I serve as a moderator for several groups and share my pet project, the Goodie List. (EFD – I love the Goodie List.  It’s always full of great things! And the Webinar series is loaded with awesomeness too. **Links to the webinar series and a few other “Goodies” are at the bottom of this post. )

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? Since 2009. I started as customer, as an admin/BA for a new implementation, then took a break to move cross country and have a set of twin girls before starting at Salesforce a little over four and a half  years ago. (EFD – Hmm, you took a break to move and have twins, and then you go back to work. I suppose now you work to get a break from the twins??)

Bacon or sausage?  Can’t I have both?  Don’t make me decide!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  What you know prepares you to impress who you know. (EFD – I knew the who and the what were connected, but I never thought about it that way before.)

How did our relationship start, and when? I believe we met at the first MVP Summit in 2014 and then we were lucky enough to recruit you as a guest host on one of our Premier Adoption webinars. Examples you contributed remain in the webinar presentation to this day! (EFD – I think we met virtually before the MVP Summit in 2014, but it was great to meet you in person at the Summit, and a total blast to help out with the webinar!)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I am not allowed to give blood here in the US because I lived in the UK for more than 6 months during the “mad cow” era. (EFD – Uh…Moo?)

Here’s the scoop on the webinar series and some of Elna’s favorite groups on the Success Community:

New to Salesforce:
Intermediate/Advanced:
*exclusively for Premier customers
Community Groups and Hot Spots:

You can find Elna on Twitter.

I always give my featured community members a chance to review and comment on the blog post before I publish it (Yeah, I’m nice like that!) and in response to my “Twins” comment, here’s what Elna shared, and I can personally relate to that, living in a house with three teen-aged girls! (No offense to women intended at all…and if you are offended, I’m sorry. I’m expressing my opinion, and you are welcome to share yours!)

kids no-kids

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Claudio Castro

This is the seventeenth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce the newest addition to the Salesforce Success Community Team, Claudio Castro.

CMC Headshot - Edited copy

 

What’s your job title? Community Manager – Success Community, Salesforce.

What does that mean you do? I’m the go-to person for all things Success Community internally and externally (in the Community)! I handle the day-to-day shtuff (admin tasks, campaigns, questions, spam, awareness) as well as long-term projects. (EFD – Ok…two things:  1 – I like how you talk “shtuff”…that’s a combination of “Shhh” and “stuff”, which means you get things done quitely. 2 – Uh, EXCUSE ME!  Handling spam is not “day-to-day”…ok, so it may be a daily occurrence, but keeping the community free of it is certainly a BIG deal! So on behalf of the entire Community….Thank you!)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? I’ve been with Salesforce an AMAZING three months now. (EFD – Whoa….that long already?  That must mean your orientation was being thrown headfirst into Dreamforce week. Ouch!)

Bacon or sausage?  Can’t I have both?  Don’t make me decide!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  It’s definitely both! Who you know will get you in the door and the what you know will get you past the door. There have definitely been instances where I’ve experienced or seen both. When it comes to the “what you know” aspect of it though, you’ve got to know your stuff. It’s like Shark Tank. Cool, you’ve got something to present to some amazing entrepreneurs, but if your product is crap, they won’t invest. (EFD – Ahhh…another Shark Tank fan….and a great analogy.)

How did our relationship start, and when? A couple weeks into my role, I don’t remember exactly when, but you (and the other members of the Community) welcomed me with open arms by engaging with me on the Success Community!! (EFD – I’ve got an idea…how about you make a trip to Chicago and see the Community in action first hand at Midwest Dreamin’ 2016?)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I LOVE music. I can’t live without it. I listen to anything that sounds good to my ears regardless of genre, although my favorites are R&B and Rap. (Yes, some Country included.) DVSN, Ryan Hemsworth, and Ty Dolla $ign are some artists I’ve been listening to lately. If you want a new recommendation or need some music for a certain mood, holla at me on Twitter! (EFD – There’s some really great musicians in the Success Community like Ryan Headley, to name just one.)

You can find Claudio on Twitter.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Kelly Bentubo

This is the fifteenth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce Salesforce MVP & the 5X Salesforce Certified Leader of the Charlotte (North Carolina) Salesforce User Group, Kelly Bentubo.

KellyBentuboGeekingOutHeahshot

 

What’s your job title? Salesforce Administrator, BlackArch Partners.

What does that mean you do? Anything and everything you’d expect from an Admin and Declarative Developer! I handle data imports, optimize page layouts, marketing messaging, and increasing efficiency through formulas and process builder automation. I’m currently working through some Visualforce enhancements and testing some Apex triggers (thank you Trailhead!) (EFD – Another shoutout to Trailhead! If you didn’t see my post introducing Chris Duarte, check it out. She’s the reason Trailhead is so awesome!)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? I’ve been a Salesforce Administrator since 2007. (EFD – That just about puts you at the “mid-life” crisis time period…in Salesforce Years.  Just kidding!  With the speed at which Salesforce evolves, there isn’t time for a mid-life crisis!)

Bacon or sausage?  Can’t I have both?  Don’t make me decide!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Although I think it’s important to build credibility with what you know, I think Salesforce is ever so quickly changing and it’s even more important to share who you know.  I think all of us struggle to keep up with the latest and greatest, often times struggling to fit in cert maintenance at the final hour!  It’s a great feeling to be able to connect resources in our community when someone asks a question on a product/service that you’ve never used before.  I’ve learned a lot through those connections and it’s led me to innovation that I may not have thought up without that initial connection trigger! (EFD – Connection trigger – love that expression. I wonder how many connection triggers will be written as a result of this post.)

How did our relationship start, and when? I first connected with Eric in Success Community years ago, did a DF13 session together on Community and then dropped some sic beats during the Awesome People Party and AppBash during DF14! (EFD – I think we first got connected as a result of us both leading user groups, and I’m thinking we first met in person at a User Group Leader function at DF11.  What’s the Awesome People Party?  Check out the full, hour-long, recording here.  If you are really only interested in the “sic beats” from the legendary group App X Chainz, that’s here.

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I love ALL types of crafting.  Drawing, painting, sculpture, scrapbooking, wood burning…you name it, I’ve probably tried it or am interested in trying it!  I’ve taken classes on cake decorating and Chinese calligraphy.  I just bought supplies to make resin jewelry and am hoping to take a glass blowing class next!. (EFD – I’m married to a “crafter” who makes, or has made Christmas ornaments; wire-wrapped jewelry, decorated sugar cookies, and I’m sure there’s more that I’m forgetting!  I’d love to see some blown glass once you’ve made some. )

You can find Kelly on Twitter, and be sure to take a look at Kelly’s blog: Geeking Out.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing THE Chris Duarte

This is the thirteenth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce the one and only, Chris Duarte.

Chris_small

What’s your job title? Managing Editor of Trailhead, Salesforce.

What does that mean you do? I make sure the content on Trailhead is rad! (EFD – For those who don’t know what Trailhead is, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN FOR THE PAST YEAR?  Oh, sorry.  I got carried away.  Check out Trailhead here.)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? Five years. (EFD – Five years?  Ha,ha!  I’ve got you beat!   What?  It’s not a competition?  Oh, so sorry.)

Bacon or sausage?  It’s bacon, or nothing!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  So here’s the deal. I’m a big believer in lifelong learning, and I think every day presents a chance to learn something new. Just this morning (EFD November 11th, the date Chris gave me these details) I was in a meeting with Todd Enders, and I was about to launch into this deck I created. He stopped me and asked a few questions, which got the room talking and got us off on the right note. The meeting had a great outcome, by the way, and now I’ve learned a new way to communicate with impact (thanks, Todd!).

This is the thing I love about learning! One minute you’re doing things the same old way you’ve always done them, and the next you’ve completely changed your mind about something you were so sure about before. You learn, and then you transform. It’s rad when it happens! Ultimately, that’s the reason I work on Trailhead. Because I believe where we can go and who we can become is limitless, and Trailhead is an amazing way to help us get there.

How did our relationship start, and when? I think we met on Twitter in 2014. Our relationship solidified when you agreed to present in our success theater at Dreamforce 2014. Then I returned the favor by presenting at Midwest Dreamin’ 2015. Thanks again for having me! (EFD – I’ve got an idea…how about a Trailhead “thing” at Midwest Dreamin’ 2016?)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I’m related to Abraham Lincoln. (EFD – Wow, really?  I wish I would have know that, and you, back in early 1865 so I could have asked you to get me his autograph.  Oh wait….nevermind.)

You can find Chris on Twitter.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Ryan Headley

This is the twelfth post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce Salesforce MVP, and musician, Ryan Headley.

image

What’s your job title? Senior IT Consultant, Radial Web, Inc.

What does that mean you do? Radial Web does custom Salesforce development, implementations and integrations. My job is mainly all things development, but there are times when I do admin stuff as well. (EFD – So you start with customer requirements, do your magic and build a solution that meets their needs. Smoke & mirrors, that’s your secret, isn’t it?)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? Just over 2 years. (EFD – Wow, dude! Only two years in the ecosystem and you’re already an MVP and you have been on stage at Dreamforce? What’s left to do? I know…plenty, right?)

Bacon or sausage?  Can’t I have both? Don’t make me decide!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Who. My old boss used to say: I don’t know, but I know YOU know. That’s all I need to know. (EFD – But what do you do if you don’t know anyone who knows what you need to know, you know? I know! Enter the Salesforce Success Community! There’s ALWAYS someone there in the know!)

How did our relationship start, and when? I think we first started following each other on Twitter sometime during early 2014. Then we met in person at the Community Keynote at Dreamforce 2014. (EFD – Ah yes, loved Erica Kuhl’s state of the community address.)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? I travelled the country as a young child while my parents toured in a bluegrass gospel band called The Pathfinders (EFD – That’s cool! So your musical abilities came naturally!)

You can find Ryan on Twitter and be sure to check out his blog: Sudo Vi.

I’m the (Kevin) Bacon of the Salesforce Community – Introducing Amber Boaz

This is the eleventh post in my blog series in which I will feature people I know from the community: Salesforce employees, MVPs, User Group Leaders, Partners, and honestly, anyone who I’m connected with who is willing to share with me the answers to five simple questions. I hoping that this blog series will help everyone out in the community get better connected to others who are either like them, can help them, are nothing like them, can’t help them, or are simply people they haven’t met yet! After all, a stranger is simply a friend you don’t know yet.

For me, one of the greatest strengths of the Salesforce Ecosystem is its people and the connections that are shared.

So, if you are brave enough, even if you’ve never met me in person, fill out this form and I’ll feature you in an upcoming post. (In case I have confused anyone, the questions on the form about our relationship refers to you, the reader, and me, the author, Eric Dreshfield, and not the featured person in this post.)  Just beware, by completing the form, you are giving me permission to use that information in a future post, as well as allowing me to interject some of my own thoughts into your responses!

And now I introduce Salesforce MVP, Amber Boaz.

image

What’s your job title? Project Manager, Code Science

What does that mean you do? I manage projects. I wrangle developers, designers, and clients. I keep projects on time and under budget while beating back scope creep. I schedule conference calls which I begin with “who just joined?” I nag about timecards and expense reports. I deliver value for my clients.  (EFD – “Who just joined?” – Three of the most often said words. “I deliver value” – Three words more people should say when describing what they do!)

How long have you been involved with Salesforce.com (as a customer and/or an employee)? Since 2008. (EFD – That’s just a year longer than me.)

Bacon or sausage?  Eww…a pork product? No thank you!

What’s more important: Who you know, or what you know?  Not sure that’s an “either/or” thing. It’s a combo. You have to know who to talk to, but then you’ve got to be competent in the conversation. (EFD – Ah…the combo! Is that kind of like the Progressive Insurance bundle?)

How did our relationship start, and when? I don’t remember, but I’m sure it was epic! (EFD – Hmmm…I don’t remember for sure either, which makes me wonder how epic it could have been. It could have been totally forgettable, or so awesomely EPIC that we have blocked it from our memory. Either way, I’m thrilled to know you!)

And now the bonus question – What’s one fact about you that few people know, that will surprise me and my blog readers? Myers-Briggs says I’m an Introvert. (EFD – Wait, what? You just defined oxymoron! You know, things like Jumbo Shrimp, Honest Politician, Military Intelligence, Amber Introvert. And just in case any military people or politicians are reading this, settle down…its just a joke. I meant no harm!)

You can find Amber on Twitter. And when you tweet her, be sure to ask what the 9904 means. I’ve never gotten a straight answer, so please share yours with me!

CRM Market – This is Going to Shake Things Up!

There’s a new platform in town and it’s about to shake up how Salesforce projects get done!

From the mind of Tal Frankfurt, CEO and founder of Cloud for Good, comes CRM Market, a new community marketplace designed to connect Salesforce consultants with Salesforce projects, with the goal of building and delivering quality at an affordable rate.  But wait…there’s more to this platform than just connecting projects and consultants.  WAY MORE!

CRM Market goes way beyond simply being a bulletin board for Salesforce projects. CRM Market automatically verifies Salesforce certifications of listed consultants so you don’t have to worry that your project will be done right. CRM Market is for any size project from a few hours of training, to a series of complex reports and dashboards, all the way up to a full blown implementation and conversion of data from a legacy system.

CRM Market is easy to register for, as a consultant and as a company needing help with a project. On the company side, CRM Market offers tips on how to write a great project description so there are no surprises later. Tips like be sure to define the nature of your project, what milestones need to be accomplished and what your expected timeline is. CRM Market even reviews your project definition and milestones to make help you write a clear and concise project. While on the consultant side, CRM Market gives visibility to Salesforce certifications automatically, allows the consultant to include a short biography and description of experience.  As CRM Market gains traction and use, consultants will be able to review companies, and companies will be able to review consultants, all out in the open so that those looking for their next job or consultant will have complete visibility to previous efforts.

Once a project has been submitted by a company, consultants can bid on the project. Here’s where it gets interesting. There’s a communications channel that the consultants can use to ask questions of the companies prior to placing a bid on a project. CRM Market monitors all communications to make sure that no one is trying to skirt the process and award a project outside the platform.  It’s in everyone’s best interest to keep everything within CRM Market. That’s really where the power of this marketplace comes from.

CRM Market aims to help collaboration between companies and consultants by facilitating the discovery of talent and needs. Every connection that is made in CRM Market, helps companies grow and succeed, while helping drive a consultant’s career forward by allowing everyone to focus on their mission and not technology.

CRM Market – Connect. Build. Deliver.

CRM Market – democratizing the way Salesforce projects get done.

For complete details, please visit http://crmmarket.com and follow CRM Market on Twitter.

crmmarket-logo-232x60